Wait. Wait a damn minute. Somehow his natural reaction had ballooned into a future in which he and Tex could be partners. What the hell?
Not long ago he’d promised himself that after this weekend he’d put mental and physical distance between himself and Zinnia’s kid. And Zinnia, too.
Especially Zinnia, the curvaceous woman who had finally coaxed her son to leave his seat on the bucket. Rolling back the stall door, she ushered him out. “Any chance one of you guys took pictures?”
Graham held up his phone. “We both did.”
“Thank heavens. I didn’t think of it until the moment he started over toward Tex.”
“And kissed me. On my ear.”
Monty returned his infectious grin. “We saw.” He held up his palm and Tex slapped his hand against it. “Congratulations, cowboy.”
“Thanks. Now we gots to play cards.”
“We do?”
“I didn’t bring out the cards. I wasn’t sure?—”
Graham tucked his phone away. “I’ll go get ’em.”
“Except Mister Monty doesn’t have to play, son. It’s polite to ask someone if they want to. Not everybody enjoys card games.”
“But he’s a cowboy, Mommy. They always play poker.”
“You play poker?” He didn’t want to insult the kid’s intelligence, but that was a complicated?—
“It’s Go Fish Poker. You gots to match up cards.”
“Ah.” He swallowed a laugh. “I know that one.”
“Hey, I gots an idea!”
“What’s that, sport?”
“We can be a team! Me and you against Mommy and Uncle G.”
“Sure. As long as it’s okay with them.” He glanced at Zinnia and his breath hitched. She quickly turned her head, but not before he caught the sheen of tears in her eyes.
“Want to have teams, Mommy?”
She used her sleeve to wipe her eyes and faced them wearing a bright smile. “Teams! What a great idea! You two better bring your A-game because Uncle G and I are in it to win it.”
What had brought on those tears? Was he somehow responsible? Whatever had triggered that reaction, she’d conquered it and was fully on board with Go Fish Poker.
Once they started playing, he was the one with concentration issues. He blamed the simplicity of a game that left him plenty of time to gaze at the woman sitting across the card table.
He paid way too much attention to the sound of her breathing, the citrus scent of her perfume, the glisten of the lipstick she’d reapplied. He was distracted by the movement of her nimble fingers and the flush on her cheeks when she scooped up the cards their team won.
Tex saved his butt. The kid had a memory like an elephant, which kept them in a constant tie with their worthy opponents. Zinnia was clearly focused on the game. So was Graham, although Monty caught the guy giving him an assessing look now and then.
Too bad the farrier knew him so well and could spot chinks in his armor. How would this sleepover with Tex work out?
If Zinnia stuck to her guns, she’d skedaddle inside after putting Tex to bed. Or if she didn’t, she’d find a reason to keep Graham around.
But Graham was the first to call it a night, maybe because Tex had started to yawn. The teams were tied so Graham agreed to one more game. Monty sharpened his focus for Tex’s sake and they broke the tie.
“Good game.” Graham stood and stretched. “I’m turning in, but by all means come get me if a problem crops up.” He folded up the card table.
